Apparatus for impregnating wood or other substances.



PATENTED SEPT. 17, 190?.

axucxucm 4 APPARATUS FOR IMPREGNATING WOOD OR OTHER SUBSTANCES.

AYPLIOATIOR FILED JUNE 16, 1906.

"long length of tubing or pipes.

I UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFIGE. 4

BERTHOLD KUCKUCK, OF WANNSEE; NEAR BERLIN, GERMANY, Assrenoa TO HULSBERG &

CIE. MIT BESCIIRANKTER HAFTUNG, OF CHARLOTTENBURG, GERMANY, A CORPORA- TION.

APPARATUS FOR IMPREGNATING WOOD OR bTI-IER SUBSTANCES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 17, 1907.

Application filed June 16,1906. Serial No. 322,095.

Wood or other Material; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains .to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an apparatus for in1pregnating wood or other material with creosote oils, or other readily inflammable materials. or materials which develop inflammable gases. Hitherto in the case of such impregnation processes the impregnating materials, particularly tar-oil, are forced from the various reservoirs by means of compressed air which had the disadvantage that dangerous explosions could easily occur. In order to avoid this danger the air which is employed is according to the present invention first of all led through a suitable coke-furnace or the like in which, according to the nature of the materials employed for the impregnation process, a certain percentage of the oxygen in the air is converted into carbonic acid gas, so that the formation of explosive mixtures of air and gas is absolutely impossible. The air must of course be cooled before being used and this can be effected by means of special cooling apparatus or by means of Further, the several Vessels or cylinders are connected with one another in such a way that the air can be used for several working periods. Thus the air, which is poor in oxygen and which has been compressed by the compressor, is first forced under pressure upon the wood, in order that laterfafter the impregnation with liquid has beeneffectcd, it may on expanding expel a part of the impregnatingliquid. The same air in the impregnatingvessel is however utilized again in order to displace the liquid from the .so-callcd charging-vessel, finally the air from the charging-vessel is utilized for the third time in order to perform the compressing work proper,

a compressorcompressing the air to a higher pressure being utilized. For this purpose an anwigemcnt of apparatus is employed such as that shown diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings.

The compressor ll draws in atmospheric air which before reaching the compressor first passes through a coke furnace K, part of the air passing under the grate and part passing into the combustion space. 'lhcrclativc amounts of the air passing into the coke furnace respectively above and below the grate can be rogulated in a. suitable. manner by nn-ans of cocks u and I; in such a way that a mixture of gases is obtained which contains a certain pcrceniagc ol' carbonic acid gas and v outhc other hand is free from carbon monoxid. 'lhe gases leaving the coke furnace before entering into the compressor are first led through a coolerJ. which if desired may be dispensed with if the tubing from the coke furnace to the compressor is very long and itself provides a sufficient area of cooling surface. The wood or other material to be impregnated is placed in the impregnating-vessel or cylinder A. The impregnating liquid is first introduced into the charging-vessel or cylinder G by forming a vacuum in C; the measuringvessel or cylinder)? is filled with impregnating liquid in the same manner. All the cylinders A, B and G are connected with a common air-pipe M at, the top It will now be assumed that the whole plant is in the condition represented in the drawings, that is, the cylinder A is charged with wood and the measuring-cylinder B and the charging or feeding-cylinder C are filled with impregnating liquid. The cocks p, q and rare closed, while the cocks f, g, and h are open. N is bent downward into the tank L, and just above this tank the pipe N is provided with a cock s, which is closed when the cocks p, q and rarerclosed. The airoutlet cocks of the several cylinders; which cocks are indicatedby n, k, and i are closed. The compressor H is now set in action and it drawsin air through thQCOkG furnace and forces it into the three cylinders C, B and A. When the desired pressure, for: example four at inc-spheres, has been reached, first the valves e and g are closed. The valves p and 1' are opened, so that the impregnating material flows from the charging-cylinder G into the impregnating-cylinder A. It will readily be seen that in this case the compressed air present in A is not lost but that in the same measure as the.iinprcgnoting-cylindcr becomes charged withliquid from the cylinder C which is situated at a higher level, the air must low over from A to C. When nowthe improgirating-cylinder is charged, the valves p, [L and f are closed, whereupon a smallcompressor Dis set in action and draws in the air present in the cylinder (L under :1. pressure of [our atmospheres and forces it into the mcasuririg-cylinder B. As soon as the pressurein the hitter is greater than that in A the valve (1 isopcncd so that during the continucd action of the compressor the liquid in the mcasuririg-cylinder B is forced into the imprcgnnting-cyl indcr A. The pressure isgradually in- The pipe creased for cxampic up to eight atmospheres and the inderA. to the charging-cylinder C. When the pressure in the inipregnating-cylinder has fallen to about 11} to 2latmospheres compressed air is allowed by opening the valves 9 and h to flow into "the cylinder A from the cylinder B which for the greater part is still filled with compressed air at a pressure of 8 atmospheres. By

thereto,- a compressor, connections this means it is possible to empty the cylinder A entirely or at least until the liquid is at its original height in C. After this the valves p and r are closed and the compressed air is let off from A and B. After this both of the cylinders A and B arc exhausted by being connected with the vacuum pump G. The moisture thus extracted from the wood is deposited in the cooler E and the condensed water can be measured in the vessol F. The valv'es g and h are then closed and atmosphcric air islallowed to enter A. The impregnating liquid which has collected in the impregnating cylinder during the exhaustion of said cylinder is drawn off into the cylinder B by means of the vacuum in said cylinder and the quantity of liquid absorbed by the wood isinade up for by a supply irom store-reservoir L. What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, ,is: p

1. An apparatus for impregnating wood or similar materlnls comprising a coke furnace, means for supplying air between said compressor and furnace, a vessel for holding the material to be treated, a charging vessel containing the impregnating materinl,-connecti0ns between said vessels, and means for conveying compressed gas from said compressor to said charging vessel, substantially as described 2. An apparatus for impregnating wood or; similar materials comprising a coke furnace, means for supplying air thereto, means for cooling the gas as it leaves said furnace, a compressor, connections between said furnace and said compressor, a vessel for holding the material to be impregnated, a charging vessel containing the impregnating material, connections between said vessels, and means for conveying compressed gas from said compressor to said charging vessel, substantially as described.

4. An apparatus for impregnating woodor similar materials, comprising a coke furnace, means for supplying air in regulated amounts to said furnace, means for cooling the gas as it leaves said furnace, a compressor, connections between said compressor and saidturnace, an imprcgnuting vessel, a charging -vessel containing impregnating material, connections between said vessels, and means for conveying gas from said compressor Io said charging vessel, substantially as described. r

5. An apparatus for impregnating wood or similar materials, comprising a coke furnace, means for supplying air thereto, a compressor, connections between said furnace and said compressor, an impregnating "esscl for containing the material to be treated, a measuring vessel, a charging vessel for containing the impregnating material, connections from said compressor to said charging vessel, adjustable means connecting each'of said three vessels with said connections, a conductonfor the impregnating material, and adjustable means connecting'each of said three vessels independently with said conductor, substantially as described.

6. An apparatus for impregnating wood or similar materials, comprising a coke furnace, means for supplying air in regulated amounts thereto, a compressor,- connections' between said compressor and furnace, an impregnating VcSSelJ'OPCOllUllllllig the material to be treated, a measuring vessel, a charging vessel for containing the impregnating material, a pipe conducting the compressed gas from the compressor, adjustable means connecting each of said three vessels independently with said pipe, a conductor for the impregnating material, adjustable means connecting each 01 said three vessels independently with said conductor, a second gas compressor, adjustable means connecting the suction side 0 said second compressor with the charging vessel, and adjustable means connecting the delivery side of said compressor with the measuring vessel, 'substautially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have at'fixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

BERTHOLD KUCKUCK. Witnesses:

Or'ro STEINMAYER, 'l. J. CARTER. 

